By Darren Barcomb: Tommy “The Duke” Morrison’s latest comeback bid has been thwarted as he was unable to be licensed for SP Promotion’s February 25th, 2011 card at the Pierre Charbonneau Centre in Montreal. Morrison (48-3-1, 42 KO’s), who has been at odds with Quebec’s Boxing Commission (RACJ) over pre-fight blood testing had been scheduled to face Canadian Erik Barrak (3-0, 2 KO’s). Although the news has not been released publically by the promoter, The Duke has verified that he has been replaced by Matt Weishaar (4-1-2, 3 KO’s), who himself was a TKO victim of Morrison in 2008.

With one week to go until the 25th, it will be interesting to see if the show can still go on without Morrison’s drawing power. SP Promotion’s website still has not issued any updates and still displays a Morrison/Barrak fight poster. In fact, the promotion has done very little to address the situation with the exception of some Morrison appearances in Montreal back in January. If the show does manage to go on, it is planned to also highlight “Merciless” Ray Mercer (36-7-1, 26 KO’s) taking on Montreal’s Stephane Tessier, (3-26-1).

With no real hype or announcements heading up to the show with the exception of the Morrison drama, there are serious doubts regarding the upcoming card and SP Promotion itself. Morrison, for his part, has vowed to continue battling for licensing as he contests the HIV positive test results that have plagued him since 1996. So, until there is a resolution on that matter, fans will have to wait and wonder what might have been if The Duke had been able to step into the ring in Montreal.

Big surprise there. Morrison's inability to be forthcoming and up front with various boxing commissions (he was trying to get licensed in Washington State last year) tells me he's trying to hide something. And with recent photos of him looking like a corpse, there's no doubt in my mind that he's suffering from teh HIV/AIDS...